Pipe and nut wrench.



No.- 66!,0"; Pat'ented out; 30, I900.

m. n. CONVERSE.

PIPE AND NUT WRENCH.

(Application filed June 7 1900.)

3 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

m: uonms PETERS 00., vnomuwa. WASHINGTON, a c

(No Model.)

w yi mwoeo Patentd Oct. 30, [900. M. D. CONVERSE. PIPE AND NUT WRENCH. Aucatiml filed Ju'me 7, .1900.

3 Sheets-Sheat 3.

UNITED STATEs'P TENT ()EEIcE,

MASCI-IILD. CONVERSE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO JOHN J. roWER, FSAME PLACE.

PIPE AND Nu-r WREN'CH.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 661,011, dated October30. 1900. Application filed June 7, 1900. Serial No. 19,368. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MAsoHIL D. OoNvEEsE,

a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, borough ofManhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inPipe and Nut Wrenches;andI do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings,aud to the letters of reference markedthereon,which .form a part of this specification.

My present invention relates to pipewrenches and to combined nut andpipe wrenches, and more particularly to that class of such tools inwhich a circumscribing jaw is provided with teeth on the engaging side,the points of which may be described as ranged upon a line or linescurvilinearly eccentric and eccentric divergent to theengaging surfaceof the arc of anotherthe fulcrumjaw, which latter is usually of uniformradii, sometimes also rigid or integral and sometimes revoluble andtoothed orsmooth. In the practical use of these types of wrenches asheretofore constructed certain annoying difficulties have beenencountered which it is the 0 purpose of my present invention toovercome,among which are (a) uncertainty or lack of promptness anduniformity of grip upon pipes or nuts of varying dimensions, within therange of any given size of Wrench, (b) 5 liability to slip upon pipe ofone dimension in some instances, or (c) to indent or crush the pipe ofother dimensions, and (d) to become jammed or bound upon the same inother cases, so that in consequence it has 0 not been possible tooperate such wrenches with confidence and uniform and unfailingfacility. The two first-named difficulties (ab) are manifestly bound tooccur if the convergence of the line-of-the-teethpoints-of the 5 teethon the circumscribing jaw is inconstant or of unequal degree withrespect to the engaging surface (or line-of-the-teeth points) of thefulcrum-jaw and whether the latter be rigid or smooth, and the third (0)and fourth 5c named (d) difficulties will occur when, combined with suchinconstant convergence, the

- degree of convergence is too low or acute and whether, as stated, thefulcrum-jaw be rigid and smooth or revoluble and toothed or smooth, atoo low or too acute angle of convergence in any case causing the pipeto be impinged by the respective jaws at points too nearly approximatingthe eXactdiametra-l sides, as will be clearly understood by thoseskilled in the art on examination of the accompanyingdrawings.'lhisstatementoffact respecting the state of the art is furthermorebased upon extended practical tests and experimental observation ofknown forms of the type of tools referred to when applied to either oldor new work in which the ordinary gas,

steam, and hydraulic pipe of commerce has been employed and with theexpress purpose of ascertaining the defects in such wrenches, the causesfor their unsatisfactory operation, and of devising means for overcomingthe same.

To this end my present invention consists in, first, constructingpipe-wrenches of the class described so that the points of the teeth onthe circumscribing jaw shall be ranged on a true involute line theevolute of which is concentric to thee ngaging arc of the fulcrum-jaw,and, second,which evolute shall be of such diameter as to insure inmanufacture any proper predetermined degree of con vergence of theinvolute line relatively the said engaging are surface of thefulcrum-jaw that the uses of the tool may demand, which for ordinarymetal pipe may not be, however, I have discovered, less than elevendegrees nor greater than fifteen degrees; third, in constructing theperpendicular side of the respective teeth on the circumscribing jawtangential to the evolute and orderly graduating and differentiatingthespacing of the same,for purposes hereinafter shown, and, fourth, in acertain specific provision for preventing crushing of very thin pipewhen it is desir-' able or necessary to use the tool on the same, and inother certain particulars of combination of all these, all of which willbe hereinafter fully set forth and claimed. By means of my saidimprovements a pipe-Wrench of this type may also be readily used forturning square or hexagonal nuts,as will be seen.

In some cases tools of the class to which my invention relates have beenconstructed with a smooth or with a serrated (toothed) pivoted supportor fulcrum-jaw. In my present invention I dispense with these and employonly a smooth rigid (preferably integral) fulcrum -jaw constructed,preferably, with uniform radii, though it may be of involute form, aswill be clearly understood; but in the case of very thin pipe (moreproperly tub ing) I sometimes employ a toothless orsmoothsurfacedcotleave-recessed striding fulcrumpiece retno ably pivoted to the rigidfulcrumbearingconcentricallyi Efforthas been made (with obvious error)to ovi-ircome the tendency of such wrenches to jam or bind the pipebetween the rigid jaws thereof by making a straight plane surface(instead of an arc form) upon the fulcrum-jaw. Such form, as will heseen, I cannot successfully employ. Mypresentinvention,furthermore,operating successfully fulfils the original objects for which this typeof tool was designed-via, a wide range within small compass.

In the drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of my invention, showingthe manner of its construction, the relation of its various parts andtheir form, and also illustrating its operation in part, as well certainother matters hereinafter referred to. Fig. 2 is a similar view, partlysectional, showing a specit'ic construction' as to a part of my invention, also certain other matters hereinafter referred to. Fig. 3 is across-sectional view of a portion of Fig. 2, hereinafter referred to.Figs. 4:, 5, and (3 are diagrammatical representations of right andwrong relations between the impingit'tg surfaces of pipe-wrenches of theclass my invention relates to, hereinafter particularly referred to.Figs. 7 and 8 are preciselysimilarside elevations of my in vention,showing its adaptation as a nutwrench, all of which will be hereinaftermore fully described in detail.

. Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

A is what I term the involute jaw, B the fulcrum-jaw, and Gthe handle,of the wrench.

ca are graduated differentially-spaced teeth on the jawA, with thepoints of each ranged upon an in volute line represented by the dottedline Z) (7, traced in the well-known way from the evolutc, which isrepresented by the dotted circle 0. To lay out or determine the propergraduation and differential spacing of the teeth a, a and for otherpurposes, a semicircle (Z (1, (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1,) ofuniform radii,coneenrric to the jaw B,isdrawn at any point beyond theinner face of the jaw A, and straight lines tangential to the evoiu te care drawn to points 6 e e, equidistant from each other on said line ('1(l, and a tooth-point is then located at each intersection thereof withsaid involute line b b, the perpendicular sideff of the teethrespectively coinciding with said tangential lines, so as to be tangentto said evolute. Now the line Z) Z), being a true evolute, converges ata uniform degree relatively the engaging surface g of the fulcrum-jaw B,so that it follows that the teeth a a will be uniformly graduatet'l anddifferential.

B in Figs. 2 and 3 is a removable pivoted fulcrum-jaw or striding piecemounted in a slotj in the fulcrum 13 on the pin 71. and pro vided withone or more smooth'surfaced or toothless concave recesses i i in orderto presentagreatersurfaee contact on smaller pipe, as at r, or twopoints of contact on larger pipe, as at s s, and to be used ashereinafter explained.

In order that the potency and operation of my present improvements maybe more clearly understood, I have shown diagrammatically by Figs. L, 5,and 6 a comparison of the same and known forms of this type of wrenches.In these diagrams, g" represents the engaging surface (g) of thefnlcrumjaw B; I) b, the involute line (b) of jaw A of my invention asthey would appearstraightened out, illustrating the constant degree ofconvergence thereof, which (degree) throughout the drawings is abouttwelve and one-half degrees, as may be seen by laying a protractor uponthe dotted lines o o o of the diagrams, (which lines correspond todotted line 0 of Fig. 1.) In diagram Fig. 5 line 7r 7; is the eccentricdotted line 75 7t: of Fig. 1 straight-, ened out, illustrating theinefficiency of such a line for the points of the teeth of thecircumscribing jaw A to be ranged upon, and in diagram Fig. 6 lines Zandm are, respectively, the two eccentric dotted lines I and m (thatcross each other at n) of Fig. 2 straightened out, also illustrating theinefficiency of such combination of eccentric lines for the points ofthe teeth of the circumscribing jaw A to be ranged upon, both which (/5and Z and in) represent the construction heretofore practiced.

Those skilled in the art will see that my invention provides a uniformor constant angle of convergence for the line of the teethpoints on thecircumscribing jaw A with relation to the fulcrum-jaw B, as shown, whichcan only be done by making said line-of-theteeth points a true involute,and not by use of an eccentric or combination or succession of eccentriclines, as heretofore, and consequently, as shown in Figs. 1. and 2 andin diagram Fig. 4E, pipes of different diameters are impinged (q q g) atuniformly like angle of tangents and that the degree of convergence ofthe jaws being right-t0 wit, not less than eleven degrees nor more thanfifteen degrees, which I have experimentally determinedthe wrench willinstantly grip the pipe without slipping on forward movement of thehandle 0 in the direction of the arrows and instantly let go withoutjamming on. reversal thereof, whereas in cases of eccentric linearrangement of the teeth, as illustrated by line 7a of Fig. l and is kof diagram Fi 5, or in cases of combined or successional eccentric linesfor the teeth, as illustrated by lines Z and m in Fig. 2 and Z and m indiagram Fig. 6, pipe would not beimpinged at uniformly like angle oftangentsflmt would in the cases of the eccentric k and k k jam at two ormore points and only have one point D D in common with my 'invention,and in cases of the combined eccentricsl and mand Z and m would jam inthe narrower space and fail to grip in the wider space.

By reference to Figs. 1, 2, 7, and 8, in

which my improved wrench is shown applied to pipes and nuts, it will beseen that by the accurate grad nation and differentiation of the teeth Iam enabled to present a uniform number thereof for engagement with thepipes ornuts whatever the dimensions thereof may be, if within the rangeof a given size of wrench, and that by making the perpendicular side ofthe teeth tangent to the evolute they will engage and sink into thesurface of the pipe without stripping or slivering of their points.

The specific device shown by Figs. 2 and 3 may or may not be employedwith the other features of my-invention and, as is manifest, might beemployed advantageously in wrenches which do not embody the otherfeatures of my invention herein disclosed and in either case withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

The concave recesses z i I make of equal depth and uniform size andequidistant from the pivot in order that when the wrench is thrustagainst a pipe preparatory to gripping the same any one of the recesseswithout regard to the size of the pipe will instantly and automaticallystride the same without manual adjustment, and I make the surfaces ofthe recesses smooth or toothless in order that the same as the handle 0is moved forward in the direction of the arrow shall with least possiblefrictional resistance freely slide circumferentially around the pipe 1),while the latter is held by a rolling contact with the teeth of thecircumscribing jaw Aand on reversal of the handle as freely slide offand release the pipe. cifically claim. 7

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 'is

1. In a wrench of the type described in combination, a rigid arc-shapedfulcrum-jaw, a rigid circumscribing jaw provided with teeth having theirrespective points ranged upon a true involute line relatively theWorkable handle.

This construction Ispe-.

2. In a wrench of the type described in combination, a rigid arc-shapedfulcrum-jaw, a rigid circumscribing jawprovidcd with graduateddifferential teeth having their respective points ranged upon a trueinvolute line relatively the working surface of said fulcrum-jaw, and asuitable handle.

3. Ina wrench of the type described in combination, a rigidfulcrum-bearing, a concave-recessed pivoted striding fulcrum-piecemounted in a slot therein, a rigid circumscribing jaw provided withteeth having their respective points ranged upon a true involute linerelatively the axis of said striding fulcrum-piece, and a suitablehandle.

4. In a wrench of the type described in the pivot, substantially as andfor the pur-' poses shown and described.

6. In a wrench of the type described in combination, a rigid arc-shapedfulcrum-jaw, a rigid circumscribing jaw provided with teeth having theirrespective points ranged upon a true involute line relatively theworking surface of said fulcrum-jaw and with the planes of theperpendicular side of each arranged tangential to the evolute, and asuitable handle.

'7. In a wrench of the type described in combination, arigid arc-shapedfulcrum-jaw, a rigid circumscribing jaw provided with teeth having theirrespective points ranged upon a true involu te line relatively theworking surface of said fulcrum-jaw, said involute line having aconstant angle of convergence of not less than eleven degrees nor morethan fifteen degrees, and a suitable handle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MASOHIL D. CONVERSE.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. Pon, E. E. OVERHOLT.

